July 16, 1043
HERALD AND NEWS, KLAMATH FALLS, OREGON
PAGE THREB
Yank Paratroopers Slash
Way Through Pillboxes to
Spearhead Sicily Invasion
By JOHN THOMPSON
Chicago Tribune Correspondent
Representing the Comblntd
United States Press
WITH AMERICAN AIR
BORNE TROOPS IN SICILY,
(Dcluyod) Spearheading tho In
vasion of Sicily, an American
parnclmto troop combat t a m
has Just completed a brtlllunl
mill tough mission, (ulfllllnii the
expectation of this tho largest
airborne combat nperntlon over
attempted by the U. S. army.
Since late Frlduy night, when
they luiided by tho Unlit of a
wnnlnii moon, they havo been
fighting crack German and Ital
ian troops, killing and ciipturlng
hundreds and hundreds. They
havo fought as small guerrilla
bunds, attacking pillboxes and
stronu points with urenades, anti-tank
weapons and knives and
they have fought as a small but
mailed team against tho Her
man Qoerlng grenadiers and
tanks.
Tak Louts
They have taken rather heavy
losses but they never gave
around. And It was largely
through their slashing, domoral-
I nfi attacks on strongly pro.
pared enemy positions that the
advance ot tno mucn turgor sea
borno forco coming In behind
them was accomplished in the
area around Vlttoria.
It would take a book to tell
the full story of this operntlon
and it will bo days before all do
ts I Is are even learned, for nl
most every man who tumped did
a lob worthy of an army medal.
But this much at least can be
told by a correspondent who
jumped with them to make his
second combat Jump and this by
night.
Started Badlr
Actually this mission started
under most Inauspicious clrcunv
stances for the entire team was
dropped by troop carriers 30 to
BO miles from the planned oDlec
Uvea. Instead ot Jumping Inland
In front of the center force to
cut off enemy reinforcements,
destroy strong point and other
wise soften up tho seaborne land'
Ing, the entire group of para
troops Jumped In front of an
other force farther out.
While the moon was dipping
low along the western horizon
we camo In over the sea,
mighty armada of transport
planes flying in, perfect forma
tlon. The terrain looked unfamil
lar to tho team .commander, a
colonel from Mount Carmel, Pa.,
but a red light flashes from the
pilot controls.-
Heavy Loads
Wo had been standing for ev
cral minutes In our heavy para
chutes, the soldiers weighted
down with loads of ammunition
guns and demolitions and this re
porter sagging under his own
load of noncombatant , equip
ment.
Tho red light meant that we
would be over our objective In a
few minutes.
They passed quickly. The
green Jump light flickered, there
was a rush down the aisle to
ward the door and In a moment
wo wcro hurling through space,
Then there wus the snap of
shoulders as the 'chute opened
Plane Down
A brilliant glare Illuminated
the ground revealing an olive
grovo Instead of the expected
wheal field. For a moment most
of us thought that ground troops
had sent up flares and were
opening fire. Then tho sickening
realization came that the flnro
was from one of our transports
which hud brokon In two and
hud burst Into tlumos.
Tho next moment wo were
landing,
Thirty foot from tho ground
the osclllutlon swung my body
horizontal as I smashed through
an olivo treo and then to the
ground. It wus a good landing,
all things consldrrcd. The others
didn't furo as well.
Your correspondent emerged
from his tangled shroud with a
wrenched knee, skinned knuck
les and bruises, and whut wus
not to appear until later a
cracked rib.
. Wrong Locality
That night wo went prowling
about in small groups, trying tn
rcuch some ground that we could
recognize. Before dnwn as It
turned out luter, cveryono re-
alized, wo hud landed In the
wrong loculity and we hud to
check to find out In what port
of southern Sicily we wero. Then
we started a general movement
to the northwest toward our
orlginul objective.
Many men Jumped Into the
fight right away, lundlng on ma
chine gun nests or pillboxes.
Others soon found their hands
full as they ran into Italian
strong points along the coast or
further Inland along slrungo
highways.
Los Men
We began to loso men, but not
many, as tho tough wily troop
ers rushed tho pillboxes. These
emplacements were designed
with three-foot cement wulls,
slits commanding all approach
es, 47-mllllmeter guns and machine-guns,
and a great deal of
wire.
But the troopers had come to
kill and thry did. Their anti-tank
weapons and grenades drove the
gunners from tho silts of the
pillboxes to be rushed. Well-
aimed Gnrund rifle fire often ac
complishcd the same purpose
and within a short while each
pillbox surrendered Its load of
Italians or a few Germans.
That was along the beaches.
Inland the fighting continued
throughout the day.
Croup Increases
Our own group by daylight
had increased, including this cor
respondent and two medical off!
cers, also unarmed, who hnd
been "swented out" In the dnrk
hours together, to 25 assorted
troopers.
And here It might be pointed
out that every man who Jumps,
with the above exceptions, jumps
ready to fight, whether lies a
cook, company clerk, a rigger or
one of the service command, and
they fought hard and viciously
Our executive officer had
Joined up with us and at his
command we moved off In col
umn, with flanking scouts, in
tending to swing north around
Vittorla. That was a day we
won't soon forget, particularly
this reporter, who had seldom
walked more than two miles at
a time at home.
First Rush
Our first rush snoved the en
emy back up and over the hill
altogether. He out-numbered us
then about three to one. The
troopers hod him on the run, but
he camo back strong with more
artillery fire and then tanks, not
only Mark IV's but his huge
Mark VI Tiger tanks mounting
88 millimeter guns in the turret.
The next hour was our worst.
Everyone expected an utiack by
tho tanks In forco and it looked
as It thcro wero a good chance
that we would bo over-run. The
colonel had sent word by a run-
Altout My
Since being asked lo help
gut on the farm labor
probltm and having ac
cepted tho appointment as
labor assistant to wwk
with th Klamath county
labor committee, th ques
tion' might hav com up
as lo th status of my In
surance business. "
Myrl C. Adams
While th Job of securing yolunir labor to harvest Klam
ath's larg crops is taking good dal of my lime tempor
arily, I definitely am looking altar and continuing my Ufa
insuranc business.
I accepted this temporary appointmont only in a desire to
cooptrat in th war effort. Lit insuranc is my business.
MYRLE C. ADAMS
WESTERN LIFE INSURANCE CO.
830 Pin St. Phon 8136
nor to tunk force headquarters,
suying:
"If you wunt this position held
wo must huve mora flra power.
But whulever happens wo (iron t
moving off this hill,"
Dig Into Fox Holes
Ho and his stuff were dug into
fox holes while the commnnd
post wus under henvy fire. One
stuff member, Cupt. A. W. Ire-
lund of Bultlmoro took 10 men
to the right flunk Willi orders to
hold ut ull costs.
Another held the left flank.
Wo waited, this reporter being
some 100 yards to tho rcur shelt
ered by a culvert whllo the ronr
of enemy lank engines grew
louder,
Out In front the parachutists
kept up a constunt f Ire. The
crews knocked out two Mark
IV's, but other crews wero blown
up. Ono youngster after cuptur
Ing a small Italinn tunk similar
to the British Brcn gun carrier
charged off In It with the avowed
purposo of "scoring those
blanks." A direct hit killed him.
Called "Last Hope"
Then the colonel called on his
last hope and ordered three
available Howitzers wheeled up
for direct fire. I sow one gun
coma up this hill Into position
Ono trooper rode Its barrel
whllo others muscled the piece
up tho slope to a ridge beside a
small white stone house. The
tanks began registering hits all
around the gun almost immcdi
ately, but with the coolness of
veterans these men placed their
gun.
They opened fire at 1800
yards, knocking out two tanks.
By this time higher liendqunrt
ers had brought up some 105's
which were firing rapidly and
the tank attuck wus stopped. By
evening more troopers hud ar
rived und the colonel ordered a
counter-attack In order to rccov
er our dead and wounded. Then
like In the last minutes of a Hoi
lywood ending, came our Gen
era! Sherman tanks and some
half-track towing anti-tank
guns. You could hear the para
chute troopers cheers even
above the clatter of the tanks.
Charge Into Waves
At 8:10 our tnnks opened fire
and we charged In two waves
while the Germans replied with
intense morlar fire and sweeping
machine-gun fire. Overhead their
Mc.tsersch mitts prowled to ob
serve or strnfe.
Ricocheting bullets sang their
bee-like song of death past my
culvert while shell fragments
whirled through the air. Half an
hour later it was quiet. And in
the gloom of the gathering night
our men came back to their lines
while tho tanks withdrew, hav.
Ing destroyed from the rear e
huge Tiger tank.
We counted many dead and
American Artillery Stuck in Rendova Mud
! ,w djswrvtrt? mn 1 I
- I
y
INEA Radio Tele photo)
In the tropical Jungle of Rndova In the Solomons Island group, this large Amtrlcan Held gun oecame
begged down In deep mire. Yankee soldiers are shown placing a large piece of wire netting under the wneei
of the, weapon to get It roUin'. ... "
wounded but it was a victory be
yond question.
Drives Off Enemy
The attack had driven the en
emy off his hill back through
tho village and ho had aban
doned tons of equipment. In
fuct, reconnaissance later show-
,'if- . Tne gummcr recreation pro-
thlS SCCtOr. arum hat rlmn ( n lolnl nt H9.7
,A.!,a T"!1 ,thc C .bi VC, "Hi with tho last check on July 13.
of this task force which hud EnrolImcnt for thB hign Khool
been held up by the. enemy si, 4S3 fth 4 g and
strong point was able to push oni ,-. . . ... t , ,r
through in the same manner as '"8 Pa in the pro-
.".,.,, ,,!, -m I gram there. At Mills school
hvnPAnH i nr nrn haHP"i ere have been 299 enrolled,
boxes and the rear areas had en-; . . , . . '
abled the combat team on the!w,th 17bys a.n,d V8'''5
,.,,ll,nrn flnnlr .n Hvn, n i CClVing thC-bcncfltS Of the Tecrea-
Naval Guns Help
There was another contribut
ing clement. The enemy s huge
tlon school
In swimming classes 42 boys
and 33 girls had enrolled by
pillboxes and strong points pro- July 13 to make a total of 75.
tccting high ground from the i Average age of the summer
west hud during the height of the program participants has been
lowered with the average age of
the youngsters set as 8 years
and 8 months. Average age of
the boys is 9 years and 2 months,
and for the girls it is 8 years
and 4 months.
battle come under fire of heavy
naval guns and one ot our war
ships. Fire of these guns was direct
ed by radio from two young na
val ensigns who had jumped
with us and who had been out in
front in the worst fighting all
day.
That was yesterday and today
the men arc resting, reorganiz
ing and often eating for the first
time. You find during the fierce
throb ot battle that hunger is
non-cxlstcnt, but it comes back
once you've had a chance to
relax. .
New Umatilla Dam
Project Rejected
PORTLAND, July 16 OP)
The proposed Umatilla Rapids
dam is frowned upon by the
army engineers and the war pro
duction board as a solution to
ihn nntirtnntpri Cniiimhin river
power shortage in 1945, the Bon-j penditurcs.
nevillc administration reported!
last night. ' Classified Ads Bring Results.
New Budget Ruling
May Affect Counties
McMINNVILLE, July 16 (P
Yamhill county officials pond
ered today a circuit court ruling
that county budgets should be
published in full a decision that
may affect several Oregon coun
ties: ' "
Judge George P. Duncan said
the summarized budget ordered
published by the Yamhill county
court was inadequate. The pur
pose of publication, he held, is
to inform taxpayers of various
itetas of proposed expenditures
and their relation to past ex-
State Commission
Hears Postwar Road
Plans in Roseburg
ROSEBURG, Ore.. July 16 UP)
The Oregon state highway com.
mission inspected the North
Umpqua road between Roseburg
and Diamond lake today, after
hearing a five-point program of
road development presented for
consideration at a meeting in
Roseburg last night. Nearing the
end of a tour of the highways of
western Oregon, the commission
met last with Douglas county
court and the city chamber of
commerce officials to receive
recommendations cone e r n i n g
post war projects.
particular emphasis was
placed on the completion of the
Pacific highway south of Eugene
by County Judge D. N. Busen
bark in presenting the Douglas
county program.
If you want to sell it phone
The Herald, and News "want
ads," 3124.
mm
o; van
Because Chevrolet Dealers
ARE SKILLED
IN SERVICING ALL
MAKES OF CARS
Because Chevrolet Deaen
EMPLOY
TRAINED
MECHANICS
Because Chevrolet Dealers
USE
QUALITY '
. PARTS
IV
IB i
Because Chevrolet Deaen
GIVE
GOOD
SERVICE .
For year Chevrolet dealers have had more trade-In than
any other dealer organization. . . Therefore, they have had
brooder experience In servicing all make and models. .
They're "America' Service Specialists.". . . They're the men to
tee when you want good, dependable service on your car I
. . BUY U. S. WAR BONDS AND STAMPS
yTory;.?. "save the wheels that serve America"
SEE YOUR lll-lfriSM fT INT A I Pl SERVICE ON ALL MAKES
LOCAL
CHEVROLET DEALER
OF CARS AND TRUCKS
Buy Bonds to Buy Bombs
For Pelican Bomber During
Women's Clubs July Drive
By EMMA CARTER
BPW Club
July is half gone and Klamath
county still has many more bonds
to buy before the quota of $300,
000 Is reached.
Klamath hasn't failed to make
any set quota yet, so the BPW
and Soroptimlst clubs have great
faith In our citizens continued
loyalty to their country, as shown
by their continuous buying ot
bonds.
This month Is "Bonds for
Bombs" for our Klamath Pell-
can bomber. July MUST be still
another red letter month in our
all out war effort on the home
front. To fail to meet our
quota of bonds this month would
be to fail our courageous boys
who are giving their all each
Contagious diseases were rec
orded as on the downward trend,
according to the Oregon state
board of health bulletin for the
week ending July 10, and Klam
ath county came through with
but one case of measles for the
book. Eighty-eight per cent of
the county's physicians reported
to the health unit.
Measles, mumps and whoop
ing cough led the state report on
the communicable disease chart.
Klamath kids seemed relatively
free from the two latter ailments.
Crowded Areas Get
Additional Funds
WASHINGTON, July 16 (IP)
Expenditure of another 200,
000,000 for community facilities
in crowded war production areas
was authorized m legislation
signed into . law by President
Roosevelt yesterday.
Congress previously provided
$300,000,000 for construction of
such facilities as schools, water
works and health improvement
projects. , - -
day they are In the service of
their country. We can surely
do no less than to deny our.
selves some of the luxuries we
still enjoy here at home.
Since the schools have closed
for the summep there ha been :
a nouceaoie decrease in lump
and bond sales to our young
people of school age. During va
cation these young people should
be buying more stamps and
bonds than ever, since many of .
them are now earning money ot
their own. Parents will do their
children, as well as their coun
try, a great service if they will
instill thrift in these young folks
by Insisting they invest their
savings in War Stamps and
Bonds. This saving will provide .
an education backlog for tho
post-war years.
RememDer, citizens, our slo
gans this month are, "Pass tho
Ammunition," "Bonds for
Bombs" or "Eggs for the Pel-
ii-au. i ncsc win cum us many
dollars' worth of bonds but they
are needed cargo for that find
bomber we've already bought.
We can't send the Klamath Pel
ican out without the ammunl
ton! Let's all buy bonds and help
to "Pass the Ammunition"!
MEDICATED POWDER
40 YEAR FAVORITE
Skin rash torture relief
hailed by millions
For the itching of minor skin rashes
heat rash, baby's diaper rash,
thousands everywhere are turning to
a kind of medicated powder special
ists often recommend for these mis
eries. It's called Mexsana, formerly
Mexican Heat Powder. And this
cooling, soothing powder which has)
been a favorite for over 40 years,
costs very little. It's especially eco
nomical when you buy the larger
sizes. You'll want to have a supply
handy for cooling the heat out of
beat rash, the bum out of sunburn,
and the ouch out of itchy mosquito
bites-Todsy be sure to get Mexsana.
Start Wearing Them Now
Right Into FALL!
. BLACKS
TRAVEL PRINTS
JERSEYS
SUIT DRESSES AND
ONE-PIECE STYLES
1UY
WAR IONDS
mi
TURNER CHEVROLET CO.
0 v ;i
CRAIG'S
617 MAIN
410 So. 6th St.
Phone 4113